Saturday, August 02, 2008
don't call me Shirley
i was going to post a lovely picture of the Shirley poppy which came out yesterday but unfortunately it decided to drop all its petals today.................more flowers to come though. sweet peas are fantastic, i picked a whole bunch yesterday and more had come out today..............the mange-tout peas have been decimated by some pest while we were away but tonight we had runner beans (yay!), asparagus peas, sugar snap peas and climbing French beans, if not exactly *for* dinner, at least *with* dinner. the problem is we never get a full crop because we keep eating things as we stroll round the garden every day admiring it...............more sunflowers are out and looking fantastic, and the passion flowers now making an appearance. the new jasmine "Clotted Cream" has a few flowers, very sweet..................gooseberries ready to pick, Alpine strawberries too................in the greenhouse the cucumbers have gone mad and climbed all the way to the roof, tiny cucumbers have appeared, all bumpy...............we managed to grow one last year and it was very tasty, but this year looks more promising already.............
Thursday, July 24, 2008
and there's more.............
day lilies are out at last. Michaelmas daisies beginning to flower too................one dahlia poking its head up in the perennial bed..............cream escholzia in the annual bed, v. pretty..........
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
beans beans beans
........and peas..........mange-tout and sugar snap. the asparagus peas are extremely pretty, a beautiful deep crimson colour. lots of things have come on since our short break in Cornwall..........most notably the cornflowers which are now cornflowering madly and look really beautiful..............and the California poppies. a stray Shirley poppy has appeared in among them.........the day lilies now have buds but are still very slow to actually flower. more love-in-a-mist and cosmos on the way...............and more roses. strawberries and gooseberries slowly ripening, raspberries going over................salads coming on in their tub and the rocket not deterred by having the nasturtiums fall on it..............small runner beans now appearing and tiny tomatoes......and some courgettes big enough to eat. it all looks extremely pretty. some Oriental poppies still producing flowers.............the pink jasmine absolutely flourishing and the variegated one coming along..............and "clotted cream" has flower buds. we are picking beautiful sweet peas..................herbs doing well although only the dill has come up of the old seeds. one coreopsis has managed to struggle into flower and the rudbeckia are still very small............but we now have a row of lovely sunflowers in the perennial bed. the lysimachia is out and looks great against the purple leaves, its own and the persicaria. can hardly see the pond for all the vegetation and the froglets are roaming................
Wednesday, July 02, 2008
and there's more...............
...........and the RHUBARB!!
............and the BEETROOT!!
and the ASPARAGUS PEA!!
............and the BEETROOT!!
and the ASPARAGUS PEA!!
in another part of the forest.................
........not a huge amount happening on the houseplant front as all the action is outside...........Hoya now flowering and Stephanotis finishing..............orchid growing another flower spike. but in a corner of the greenhouse, planted ages ago and forgotten..................two of the Stephanotis seedlings have sprouted!!....................now potted on and in the ITU, growing very slowly if at all, but we'll see.................alongside them a bit of geranium that fell off, and some bits of Mum's Christmas cactus. for some reason most of the forest cacti died, i suspect it was still too cold when they went out for their summer holidays. however the MCC looks very healthy so hope the cuttings take..............
summer harvest
Just about to eat our first dinner made with things from the garden............the funny weather of sunshine and showers has brought everything on in a sudden rush and it can only be described as burgeoning...............have picked the first sweet pea but the oriental poppies are just finishing so everything is still all coming out in the wrong order. Paeonies just finishing too after a magnificent display, and the first love-in-a-mist are coming up through them, very pretty. the organic rose was as usual first to flower............"Curiosity" now has buds and also the one Carrie uncovered under the clematis, no idea what colour the flowers will be..............the VJR (Very Jaggy Rose) has put on loads of leaf but no buds yet. orange patio rose now flowering beautifully but other one not out yet. the canna lilies were obviously insulted by me deciding they were dead and putting a tomato in their pot............the tomato has met a mysterious fate and fallen over and the cannas are putting up superb leaves! Various things just on the brink of flowering...............lilies, sunflowers, more sweet peas..............sweet rocket still going strong and first night-scented stock just appearing. very exciting, i've never managed to get them to grow before. Some California poppies in the pot with the lilies, brilliant orange.............the ones in the beds coming on but no flowers yet. red scabious out, godetia growing well, cornflowers just about to bloom. first honeysuckle flowers appearing at the bottom of the garden but the big honeysuckles not out yet. alliums never showed at all this year..............the day lilies have been very late and have only now put up flower buds. there also appears to be another day lily in the perennial bed, not a clue where that came from - did we bring it from Mum's or is it a SQ survivor?
Morning Glories after a slow start now taking off, at least in pots but i see that one of the ones in the garden has actually survived though still very small. nasturtiums in flower of course...............variegated jasmine is doing well, again with more light after the clematis had its haircut. the pink jasmine was also slow to get going but flower buds have now appeared. the two hebes in the purple patch are both flowering and look very nice, with the Lysimachia "Firecracker" beside them and almost ready to flower. Rudbeckia seedlings are now all planted out, along with the Coreopsis..............i hae ma doots about the latter, they were very slow to germinate and are still very small but seem to be growing away quite well. Cosmos seedlings from the greenhouse and straight into the ground seem to be about neck-and-neck.
In the greenhouse..................the tomatoes are romping away but we've moved most of the rest out.............courgettes and squash into containers because they're already flowering and tiny courgettes are manifesting themselves..............i've taken the chillies out of the raised bed and into individual pots and we'll try some indoors and some in the greenhouse to see how they get on. moved the poached-egg plants outside because they were taking up too much space. salad containers are now planted..................the pak choi and other salad thing in the barrel have bolted but the flowers are pretty so we've left them as a nice contrast with the red runner-bean flowers. Thai basil and lemon basil into pots but staying in the greenhouse and some of their siblings off to Angi's balcony. i bought a new variegated oregano.............the old golden oregano is on its last legs, it never really got over being tramped on by the guys laying the patio, but the pot marjorams are doing well and i've divided the variegated oregano to make an extra plant. Carrie has cut down the lovage...............allowing more light to The Fig. don't know if The Fig will ripen but if it does it will be very exciting................we are now eating fresh raspberries and the crop promises to be heavy, although if we keep picking them as each one ripens there won't be enough for a full meal.............we're doing that anyway with the sugar snap peas and mange-tout, hovering over the veggie bed like the Witch in "Hansel & Gretel" waiting to see if they're ready to eat yet............we're in a between-salads phase but there's chard, small purple cabbage leaves, sorrel, nasturtium, parsley, and even beetroot leaves in the meantime.............my herb pot is slow to get going but the dill is in the lead having just started to sprout. and we do now have borage flowers for our drinks, and sheaves of applemint to make our summer fizz.............
............definite froglets in the pond, much splooshing and splashing every time we approach................the irises haven't flowered this year but the watermint is doing OK...............all the aquilegias are down now and i've trimmed the lower branches of the lilac and tidied the under-tree bed a bit..............meadowsweet just about to flower and huge clump of Michaelmas daisies same as last year................i've taken some cuttings of Isabel's prostrate rosemary and the clematis for Runa's fence. very pleased to see that the passiflora has not only survived being moved but seems to be growing madly, i didn't expect it to flower but i see at least one bud.............
in the front.............clearing all the bulb foliage and putting down the cocoa shell has made it look as neat as it can when everything's covered in big shaggy clumps of thyme............i've toasted all the weeds with the flamethrower thing which was very satisfying and it has helped.............the patio clematis is in flower but the rose shows no sign of buds.............honeysuckle just finished and needs tying up. it still all looks a bit of a mess, but it's a pretty mess................Mum's snow-in-summer has established nicely and has flowers, and i've tied up the floppy rose, also no sign of it flowering but it's still "early summer" after all................
Morning Glories after a slow start now taking off, at least in pots but i see that one of the ones in the garden has actually survived though still very small. nasturtiums in flower of course...............variegated jasmine is doing well, again with more light after the clematis had its haircut. the pink jasmine was also slow to get going but flower buds have now appeared. the two hebes in the purple patch are both flowering and look very nice, with the Lysimachia "Firecracker" beside them and almost ready to flower. Rudbeckia seedlings are now all planted out, along with the Coreopsis..............i hae ma doots about the latter, they were very slow to germinate and are still very small but seem to be growing away quite well. Cosmos seedlings from the greenhouse and straight into the ground seem to be about neck-and-neck.
In the greenhouse..................the tomatoes are romping away but we've moved most of the rest out.............courgettes and squash into containers because they're already flowering and tiny courgettes are manifesting themselves..............i've taken the chillies out of the raised bed and into individual pots and we'll try some indoors and some in the greenhouse to see how they get on. moved the poached-egg plants outside because they were taking up too much space. salad containers are now planted..................the pak choi and other salad thing in the barrel have bolted but the flowers are pretty so we've left them as a nice contrast with the red runner-bean flowers. Thai basil and lemon basil into pots but staying in the greenhouse and some of their siblings off to Angi's balcony. i bought a new variegated oregano.............the old golden oregano is on its last legs, it never really got over being tramped on by the guys laying the patio, but the pot marjorams are doing well and i've divided the variegated oregano to make an extra plant. Carrie has cut down the lovage...............allowing more light to The Fig. don't know if The Fig will ripen but if it does it will be very exciting................we are now eating fresh raspberries and the crop promises to be heavy, although if we keep picking them as each one ripens there won't be enough for a full meal.............we're doing that anyway with the sugar snap peas and mange-tout, hovering over the veggie bed like the Witch in "Hansel & Gretel" waiting to see if they're ready to eat yet............we're in a between-salads phase but there's chard, small purple cabbage leaves, sorrel, nasturtium, parsley, and even beetroot leaves in the meantime.............my herb pot is slow to get going but the dill is in the lead having just started to sprout. and we do now have borage flowers for our drinks, and sheaves of applemint to make our summer fizz.............
............definite froglets in the pond, much splooshing and splashing every time we approach................the irises haven't flowered this year but the watermint is doing OK...............all the aquilegias are down now and i've trimmed the lower branches of the lilac and tidied the under-tree bed a bit..............meadowsweet just about to flower and huge clump of Michaelmas daisies same as last year................i've taken some cuttings of Isabel's prostrate rosemary and the clematis for Runa's fence. very pleased to see that the passiflora has not only survived being moved but seems to be growing madly, i didn't expect it to flower but i see at least one bud.............
in the front.............clearing all the bulb foliage and putting down the cocoa shell has made it look as neat as it can when everything's covered in big shaggy clumps of thyme............i've toasted all the weeds with the flamethrower thing which was very satisfying and it has helped.............the patio clematis is in flower but the rose shows no sign of buds.............honeysuckle just finished and needs tying up. it still all looks a bit of a mess, but it's a pretty mess................Mum's snow-in-summer has established nicely and has flowers, and i've tied up the floppy rose, also no sign of it flowering but it's still "early summer" after all................
Sunday, June 29, 2008
raspberries and tadpoles
WE have started eathing them and they havve now been seen with 4 legs andn look quite grown up.. most exciting.
veg garden progress
Every thing is now growing extremely fast. At present in veg bed are climbing beans up to 4 ft(flowers budding but not yet out). Shallotts, plenty of greenery.. overwshadowed by broad beans. Broad beans with pods now up to 3 ins long and plants 3'6" high. Norli peas with flowers, beetroots , very strong leaves but small bulbs thus far. very small quantity of cumin plants.. most have been eaten by slugs grrr. Sugar bon peas, we have eaten two off the plant but plenty more coming. bulb fennel doing well, probably too closely spaced. Red cabbage and broccoli.
Corgettes (goldie and black forest) and squashes (turks turban and gails) were all very slow but those grown on in the greenhouse to be quite large plants and then put in the bed on 1st June have done much better.
Corgettes (goldie and black forest) and squashes (turks turban and gails) were all very slow but those grown on in the greenhouse to be quite large plants and then put in the bed on 1st June have done much better.
Sunday, June 01, 2008
backlog
garden has been so busy that we've got a bit behind on the writing-up, jotting down notes but not had time to blogify them. so here they are:
26/4/08
Godetias beginning to sprout (in the greenhouse)
Planted out Gail's squash and sowed the Norli peas
Established net to stop cat trauma to the veggie bed (broad bean seedlings)
First sight of shallots sprouting
planted My Love dahlias
Sorted through compost and found family of mice! which had made a very cosy little home - moved them to the other side keenly watched by Tiger...........
Sowed Nigella "Miss Jekyll", Escholzia, night-scented stock and cornflowers
Potted up the french tarragon
Moved the tomato seedlings
27/4/08
damn it bloody cats have AGAIN dug up shallots - fencing and cage reinforced extensively, replanted shallots for the THIRD time grrrrr God help the radishes
planted out beetroot seedlings
sowed poached-egg seeds into veg bed
Movied the Passiflora into the perennial bed
Moved the Ceanothus - good luck
Earthed up the ivy in its pot and planted a couple of nasturtium "Empress of India" beside it
Moved the Pasque flowers to the "iris bed" by the paeonies
Moved the mystery plant (?coreopsis) to the perennial bed
Spotted FROG x2 in the pond!!
Sowed the salad barrel - pak choi, lettuce, mustard spinach and runner beans
Sowed sweet marjoram
First cherry blossom out!
2/5/08
TADPOLES!!
25/5/08
Planted out "Sugar Bon" peas - about 3 ins high
Black Forest courgette planted out with 2 leaves has been totally munched
Broad beans now 12 ins high and need staking
Shallots look good
Tadpoles - lots - large but no legs yet
Planted out climbing beans and two aubergines purchased at OSP
Perovskia doing well but no sign of dahlias yet
First paeony opening imminent
Sweet rocket nearly 4ft high - much taller than bleedin' eart
26/5/08
tadpoles very carnivorous now - scoffing dead snails urrrghhh
Potted on courgettes and Turks Turban squash
planted out red cabbage and broccoli
27/5/08
Cleared up creeping buttercup in "wild" zone - Carrie attacked by brown compost bin, blood ++ and trip to Minor Injuries at WGH
29/5/08
Wind finally gone round to West - most of May bright and dry but unseasonably cold so everything a bit behind.
Second dose of Nemaslug applied
Roses treated with lethal mix of garlic, sugar and ginger
1/6/08
Flaming June, ha - but yesterday was gorgeous, and the garden has definitely responded to the warmth. Paenoies and organic rose now out and one of the yellow roses, but the oriental poppies still haven't appeared. Cats been digging again and nearly but not quite managed to destroy the peas. Ceanothus sadly has not survived being moved..............have put in the tree paeony and planted out rest of godetia seedlings and some of rudbeckia seedlings, keeping some back in the greenhouse just in case. Various things waiting in the greenhouse to go to new homes......tomato plants and chili plants for Sita, Fuchsia cuttings, pots of Nigella and tomatoes for Maryam. basil seedlings have just germinated but no sign of the stephanotis. Morning glories distributed in various places, with again a couple in the greenhouse as reserves...........i've never actually managed to grow them before but they look nice and strong. greenhouse stuff mostly still quite small............raised beds have tomatoes, chillies, aubergines and cucmbers. one courgette "Goldie" in a pot, beside the pot with the runner beans and tomatoes. salad barrel mostly dominated by the biggest and healthiest parsley plant ever seen............just have to think of lots of things to do with parsley i guess................coriander just starting on the window-sill and will need tp start more summer herbs and salads once the greenhouse is clearer. Coreopsis have been very slow and unlikely to flower this year, but i've potted the seedlings on to encourage them.........lupins look fab and delphiniums coming on too, those are longer-term projects for the perennial bed. Nigella, cornflowers, NSS and Escholzia doing what they're meant to do in the annual bed, clary also beginning to sprout. the sweet rocket has turned out to be huge............pretty white or pink flowers with a sweet scent inthe evening. fabulous lilac at the back, diascias starting to flower and the first tiny begonia leaf just poking its way up in the planter bench............
26/4/08
Godetias beginning to sprout (in the greenhouse)
Planted out Gail's squash and sowed the Norli peas
Established net to stop cat trauma to the veggie bed (broad bean seedlings)
First sight of shallots sprouting
planted My Love dahlias
Sorted through compost and found family of mice! which had made a very cosy little home - moved them to the other side keenly watched by Tiger...........
Sowed Nigella "Miss Jekyll", Escholzia, night-scented stock and cornflowers
Potted up the french tarragon
Moved the tomato seedlings
27/4/08
damn it bloody cats have AGAIN dug up shallots - fencing and cage reinforced extensively, replanted shallots for the THIRD time grrrrr God help the radishes
planted out beetroot seedlings
sowed poached-egg seeds into veg bed
Movied the Passiflora into the perennial bed
Moved the Ceanothus - good luck
Earthed up the ivy in its pot and planted a couple of nasturtium "Empress of India" beside it
Moved the Pasque flowers to the "iris bed" by the paeonies
Moved the mystery plant (?coreopsis) to the perennial bed
Spotted FROG x2 in the pond!!
Sowed the salad barrel - pak choi, lettuce, mustard spinach and runner beans
Sowed sweet marjoram
First cherry blossom out!
2/5/08
TADPOLES!!
25/5/08
Planted out "Sugar Bon" peas - about 3 ins high
Black Forest courgette planted out with 2 leaves has been totally munched
Broad beans now 12 ins high and need staking
Shallots look good
Tadpoles - lots - large but no legs yet
Planted out climbing beans and two aubergines purchased at OSP
Perovskia doing well but no sign of dahlias yet
First paeony opening imminent
Sweet rocket nearly 4ft high - much taller than bleedin' eart
26/5/08
tadpoles very carnivorous now - scoffing dead snails urrrghhh
Potted on courgettes and Turks Turban squash
planted out red cabbage and broccoli
27/5/08
Cleared up creeping buttercup in "wild" zone - Carrie attacked by brown compost bin, blood ++ and trip to Minor Injuries at WGH
29/5/08
Wind finally gone round to West - most of May bright and dry but unseasonably cold so everything a bit behind.
Second dose of Nemaslug applied
Roses treated with lethal mix of garlic, sugar and ginger
1/6/08
Flaming June, ha - but yesterday was gorgeous, and the garden has definitely responded to the warmth. Paenoies and organic rose now out and one of the yellow roses, but the oriental poppies still haven't appeared. Cats been digging again and nearly but not quite managed to destroy the peas. Ceanothus sadly has not survived being moved..............have put in the tree paeony and planted out rest of godetia seedlings and some of rudbeckia seedlings, keeping some back in the greenhouse just in case. Various things waiting in the greenhouse to go to new homes......tomato plants and chili plants for Sita, Fuchsia cuttings, pots of Nigella and tomatoes for Maryam. basil seedlings have just germinated but no sign of the stephanotis. Morning glories distributed in various places, with again a couple in the greenhouse as reserves...........i've never actually managed to grow them before but they look nice and strong. greenhouse stuff mostly still quite small............raised beds have tomatoes, chillies, aubergines and cucmbers. one courgette "Goldie" in a pot, beside the pot with the runner beans and tomatoes. salad barrel mostly dominated by the biggest and healthiest parsley plant ever seen............just have to think of lots of things to do with parsley i guess................coriander just starting on the window-sill and will need tp start more summer herbs and salads once the greenhouse is clearer. Coreopsis have been very slow and unlikely to flower this year, but i've potted the seedlings on to encourage them.........lupins look fab and delphiniums coming on too, those are longer-term projects for the perennial bed. Nigella, cornflowers, NSS and Escholzia doing what they're meant to do in the annual bed, clary also beginning to sprout. the sweet rocket has turned out to be huge............pretty white or pink flowers with a sweet scent inthe evening. fabulous lilac at the back, diascias starting to flower and the first tiny begonia leaf just poking its way up in the planter bench............
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
potting frenzy
the weather is clement and the seed season has started in earnest...........all available surfaces are covered in seed trays and various things are rocketing away................broad bean seedlings out into the veg bed today, absolutely beautiful and strong with huge roots...........sweet peas out too...........beds weeded and cleared, perennials moved...............i've planted out the dame's violet and moved a few mystery plants into a clump beside the dicentra.........i think one might be a coreopsis from last year but i haven't a clue what the others are. montbretia and aquilegia are coming up everywhere but i've been a good deal more ruthless this year about moving them to where i want them to be rather than letting them run riot. re-potted Norma's rose and the patio rose into David & Ian's turquoise pots and scattered in a few escholzia beside them. salads are out of the greenhouse..........we had a huge stir-fry with all the mibuna and pak choi, they did fantastically well and it was so lovely being able to nip out to the greenhouse in the early spring and pick fresh salad leaves. hope they'll do as well in the barrel..............i've made up a couple of pots for Maryam with nigella "Persian Jewels", and the little trio pot with three kinds of mint. put some pendula begonias into the planter seat...........various things from last year still alive but those will fill a gap. the scorched rose is still alive and i gave it a trim and feed to help it get over the trauma............wonder what the huge plant in the corner by the applemint will turn out to be. possibly a weed, but it does look a bit intentional..............might be a salvia but it will be a nice surprise whatever it is..................
front garden putting on a great spring display as usual, the new vinca has established well and is covered in lovely purple flowers.................nothing to do there really until all the bulbs die down, pleased to see the wood anemones looking so pretty..................
.............it has been quite mild but we had some proper frost this winter. paeonies in bud already which i think is early...............and could the new one i planted about four years ago be planning to flower at last? the patio apple trees have blossom, the new blackcurrant looks very happy and so do the whitecurrant and the gooseberry, so the fruit garden is shaping up well...........
front garden putting on a great spring display as usual, the new vinca has established well and is covered in lovely purple flowers.................nothing to do there really until all the bulbs die down, pleased to see the wood anemones looking so pretty..................
.............it has been quite mild but we had some proper frost this winter. paeonies in bud already which i think is early...............and could the new one i planted about four years ago be planning to flower at last? the patio apple trees have blossom, the new blackcurrant looks very happy and so do the whitecurrant and the gooseberry, so the fruit garden is shaping up well...........
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
the flowers that bloom in the spring, tra-la
............looking at the notes from last year, some things are blooming in the spring tra-la a bit earlier. the winter has been pretty cold with proper frost, but now that the clocks have changed it feels like spring and we've had a bliz today............only the second real full day's gardening of the year but what a difference a little bit of work makes................i tidied out the shed a few weeks ago and got rid of a lot of clutter...........some of the veg seeds are planted in the greenhouse and we're enormously proud of our winter salads which are only now beginning to bolt. everyone who comes to visit gets dragged into the greenhouse to admire the pak choi..........most stuff still just at the preparation stage but we are very much more organised than last year, thanks to having the greenhouse. but today was the first proper prowl round............so i hoed and weeded the fruit beds, moved the whitecurrant and Isabel's alpine strawberries and tied up the raspberry canes..................tidied the bit where the paeonies are and moved Helga the iris down to join the irises "Harmony", glad to see she's had some babies...........lots of things are just beginning to show, like the catmints, but lots in full swing already. and most exciting of all............there is FROGSPAWN in the pond!!...............
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